The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 42

#Episode 42. Wintering (1)

Zion walked up the stairs from the first floor.

In the lobby on the first floor, there were about 30 people gathered there that Kim Soo-kyung had called.

Everyone was shivering from the cold and had haggard faces, but no one dared open their mouths.

The entrance was just a glass door, so cold wind kept coming in through the gaps.

The breath of the gathered citizens reminded me of a smoking area.

“Is everyone here?”

Zion approached Kim Soo-kyung, who was lining them up, and asked.

He nodded and answered, lining up the people.

“Oh, yes. All the people with the professional jobs you mentioned are here. Additionally, the people you circled have been placed in the left column.”

He treated Zion as if he were his boss at work.

This was not a place for social life.

It was just a small group of people struggling to survive.

The people here had a hard time shaking off the remnants of the old world.

I still dream of a life where, if I can overcome all these hardships, spring will come again, I can go to work, go to school, and go out with my family on the weekends.

But that kind of life will never come again.

Jin Jae-hee was the proof.

Among these hundreds of people, only Kang Si-on and Jin Jae-hee were aware of the fact.

Zion looked at the chart and called out the name.

“Mr. Lee Jong-cheol.”

“Yes, I will.”

Boiler specialist Jong-cheol Lee raised his hand in the middle of the line and walked out feebly from the line.

Lee Jong-cheol was the only professional engineer who knew how to operate a boiler.

As he walked ahead, Zion asked.

“Do you know how to use a boiler?”

“I know, but.”

“Let’s go over there.”

“… … .”

Lee Jong-cheol looked at the place he was pointing to and then called Zion.

“Excuse me, sir. What happens next?”

The police chief said he has assigned a manager and a specialist to help deal with the situation here.

In this police station, at least for the citizens, the chief’s orders were absolute power.

Those who have been here since round 1, as well as those who came later.

People are loyal and obedient to those who protect them.

This has been proven throughout ancient human history when kingdoms arose.

But the student in front of them, who was the newly appointed manager, did not seem trustworthy to the workers.

Zion looked so young and socially inexperienced.

How can such a person be the manager who will control their lives?

Even if he was a capable person acknowledged by the chief, Zion would not have been very trustworthy.

“Excuse me, sir.”

Lee Jong-cheol called Kang Shi-on once more, but Shi-on was just looking at the chart.

Of course, it was not that Zion did not hear what Lee Jong-cheol said.

But he had no intention of engaging in individual conversations with workers.

There was no time to sit around and chat leisurely.

There wasn’t enough time to survive the winter.

Every minute was precious, and Zion was absorbed in what he had to do.

When Zion did not answer, Lee Jong-cheol bit his lower lip.

Because of the cold, my lower lip was dry and covered in chapped skin.

‘These guys are just like the chief. They’re going to kill us all… …!’

The power to do whatever one wants without giving up the power one holds.

Lee Jong-cheol was one of those who were dissatisfied with the chief’s control and management.

Lee Jong-cheol walked weakly to the designated location.

“Next, Choi Se-heon.”

Zion continued to classify people according to the value of their labor.

The core working class, that is, the work experts for wintering, were classified as the top class, and below that were the assistants, day laborers, etc.

It was divided into two major criteria.

The first is a heating expert who is involved in boilers.

The second is a specialist who requires dexterity related to craftsmanship.

Under the current Kang Shi-on management system, the boiler specialist was in the highest position.

Zion intended to give them a proper reward.

This was because without compensation, work efficiency would decline.

After sorting things out to some extent, Kang Si-on headed to where Lee Jong-cheol was.

“Mr. Lee Jong-cheol.”

“yes.”

Lee Jong-cheol weakly raised his hand again at Kang Si-on’s call.

Several people were sitting helplessly on the ground, and Zion’s gaze was looking around at them.

Zion said to Lee Jong-cheol.

“I’m going to restart the boiler. Is that possible?”

Everyone here was astonished at Zion’s words.

The same was true for Police Officer Kim Soo-kyung, who was guarding him.

It was something that could not be easily thought of.

Now, in a world where you can’t tell how much has changed, there is no electricity, water, or gas, and it is difficult to even eat one meal a day.

In such a situation, restarting the boiler was absurd.

Jong-cheol Lee knew best that this was nonsense.

Lee Jong-cheol stared blankly at Zion and then smiled slightly.

It was absurd.

“Nonsense, Mr. Manager. There’s no city gas or electricity, so what kind of boiler are you planning on running? Besides, the police station doesn’t have heating in the floor of the building, but uses heating equipment.”

“You don’t necessarily have to lay the flue pipes all over the floor. For now, we’ll just do it on the residential floors.”

Zion answered his words immediately.

Then Lee Jong-cheol also answered immediately.

“That’s ridiculous. Then we’d have to dig up all the cement on the floor, and we wouldn’t be able to find enough manpower and equipment to do that, and it would take a long time. And don’t you see, looking at our condition? Right now, we can barely move a finger. We’re just weak citizens.”

“Who said the floor was exposed?”

“What?”

Kang Shi-on cut him off by tapping the floor of the police station with his foot.

The floor of the police station is made of cement and steel plates, so it would be no easy task to remove it by human force.

Even in peacetime, it couldn’t have been anything but hard labor.

But the way Zion came up with it didn’t require exposing the entire floor surface.

“We’ll put the chimney on this floor and then put plywood on top of it. That doesn’t mean we’ll put chimneys all over the floor. They’ll just serve as insulation, so about three chimneys per floor will be enough. If you’re in a hurry, you don’t have to put the plywood. We don’t want heating like in an apartment, but at least enough warmth to keep people from freezing to death.”

“… …Right above this?”

“Yes. We will collect the chimneys from the nearby apartments. The heating tank will be installed on the first floor. I will recruit a separate collection team to collect the chimneys. And for things like plywood, if you search around Manan-gu, you will be able to find them without much difficulty. Plywood is widely available.”

Zion’s plan was simple.

The boiler operates on the principle of heating water and sending the generated warm steam through a chimney to warm the floor.

The calculation was that if we could keep the room at a constant temperature like this, we would be able to get through the winter without any problems.

If we collect the chimneys and place them on the floor inside the police station, or more precisely, in the residential area of the citizens, we can secure a temporary means of heating.

As attractive as Zion’s plan was, it had two major problems.

Lee Jong-cheol pointed out the problem.

“The chimney is not very durable, so even if an average adult jumps on it a little, it will quickly become dented or burst. So it will be difficult to keep it warm. And the most important thing is the heating and pump.”

“… … .”

Everyone, including Zion, was paying attention to Lee Jong-cheol.

“How are you going to heat the chimney? There’s no gas coming in, and there’s no energy source to heat that much water in the first place. And even if you succeed in heating it, the pump is powered by electricity. If it’s not electric, the pump won’t move. If the pump doesn’t work, the boiler is useless. I thought about these things while I was here, but I kept quiet because I thought it wouldn’t work… … Phew… … .”

Lee Jong-cheol finished speaking and then exhaled heavily.

He seemed out of breath when he spoke long sentences.

Because I was already physically almost at rock bottom.

But Kang Shi-on thought about this too.

The simplest and most intuitive way.

“People will do it. Insulation, heating, pumps. All of it.”

“… … ?!”

Everyone was surprised by his words.

It was ridiculous.

No, even if it were possible, it wouldn’t be possible within this.

“How many people do you think you’ll need for that job…? Dozens. Dozens. For one boiler.”

“Yes, I will. Even if it means hundreds of people.”

Kang Shi-on interrupted him.

Zion knew better than anyone.

Zion tilted his head slightly to the left, overwhelming everyone gathered there.

“… … Or else, freeze to death.”

Zion made it clear to them:

If we don’t solve the heating problem, everyone here will eventually die.

That is why Zion will take on the challenge of needing dozens, if not hundreds, of people to operate one boiler.

In the first place, dozens of people have been deployed just to secure water for the bathrooms.

And that too with police forces only.

If additional manpower is added to the boiler, the boiler can be operated.

That was Kang Shi-on’s plan.

Replacing manpower used in useless work with useful work.

And although I will have to discuss the details with Lee Jong-cheol up front, I have also thought about the overall method of making a boiler that can be operated by manpower.

Zion spoke clearly to the workers here who were looking at him.

“If we can’t, what can we do? We have to do the best we can. I don’t think you haven’t come to grips with reality yet. We will survive. In this building, in this city. We have to do something to do that. We have to scoop up the snow, heat it, make water, connect the chimney to the boiler, and connect the chimney to the heating tank. Once the boiler is complete, we will have heat, and we will be protected from the cold. In the process, we can unite with each other. That’s how we will survive this winter.”

After saying that, Zion, whose expression had never softened even once, took a step back.

At that moment, Zion bowed his head.

Not just slightly bent, but bent almost to a 90 degree angle.

Kang Shi-on made an earnest request to the workers.

“Please, we need your help.”

Even without bowing her head enough, Zion was in a position to give them orders.

Even though he could do whatever he wanted, just like a police chief, he bowed his head.

What Zion wanted was not a mediocre labor force forced into labor.

What Zion wanted was a passionate workforce that came from the will to live, unity, and the power to believe in and follow one another.

And Kang Shi-on’s thoughts were right.

“ah…….”

“Haa-. This is true.”

The workers there began to open their hearts one by one to Kang Si-on’s sincerity.

No, actually, they knew vaguely too.

If you don’t do something, you will really lose everything.

All that was left for them was the driving force that would lead them to one action.

And Zion became their driving force.

A man who had been silent suddenly stood up and spoke.

“Mr. Jongcheol. Let me try it. It doesn’t seem so bad, does it? What was that thing that Mr. Jongcheol did to me last time?”

“Plan. Plan.”

As soon as one person spoke, a flood of shouts erupted from all over the place.

“That’s right. Didn’t Jong-cheol say that he had made some plans regarding the boiler?”

“Yeah. It’s not like it’s completely impossible. It’s better to do something than nothing. Like that student.”

“We can’t all die here! Let’s do as that student says! Yes?!”

“We can’t just wait for the rescue team and blindly trust the police forever! Okay! Let’s do it!”

“You can’t freeze to death! Right? Everyone!! Come on, let’s get up!”

Citizens rose from their seats one by one and shouted.

Even as they were shouting, Kang Shi-on still had his head down.

Lee Jong-cheol looked around at the citizens who were united in spirit.

And then I looked at Kang Shi-on, who was still bowing his head.

“ha…….”

Lee Jong-cheol thought while wiping the corners of his dry mouth.

To be honest, all the things that Kang Shi-on had told himself were things that he couldn’t possibly confirm as impossible.

If it had been impossible, Lee Jong-cheol would have dismissed his opinion.

However, if a reasonable solution to the problems he was thinking of was proposed, Lee Jong-cheol was willing to reconsider it.

If opinions are exchanged in this way, the plan will certainly become more elaborate.

Honestly, Lee Jong-cheol was frustrated.

Seeing citizens suffering from the cold all this time, I felt frustrated that there was nothing I could do.

But at that moment, when he met Kang Shi-on, he felt as if all the frustration in his heart had been lifted.

People around me are getting up one by one because they can’t stand it anymore.

And at the center of it all is Lee Jong-cheol.

Manager Kang Si-on still bows his head.

Lee Jong-cheol could not give in.

“… … Okay. Let’s give it a try.”

Only then did Zion raise his head.

As planned, everyone rose up in unison.

They rejected the existing police methods and gave their full support to the new leader.

There are only a few dozen people gathered here now, but the moment the boiler is completed, Zion’s approval rating will soar.

Of course, the task of operating the boiler was the priority, but approval ratings were also an important factor.

Zion smiled inwardly as he looked at the workers shouting here and there.

‘good.’

Wintering here had only just begun.

It all started with Kang Shi-on.

(Continued in the next episode)